Apple Will Pay Major ISPs For Fast Lanes To Its CDN [Report]

A report published back in February claimed that Apple was working on its own CDN or Content Delivery Network. Basically what this means is that Apple would have more control over how its content is delivered to users. The company has and continues to rely upon CDN companies like Akamai and Level 3 for this purpose, but the congestion witnessed with the rollout for iOS 7.0 last year underscored the need for Apple to build its own CDN.

A new report from analyst Dan Rayburn, who has deep ties with the CDN and ISP industries, claims that Apple is now negotiating interconnect deals with major ISPs in the U.S. The company will essentially be paying for faster lanes to its content. Netflix, which has its own CDN, recently paid both Verizon and Comcast to ensure that its users didn’t experience throttling.

Rayburn also claims that a handful of major companies like Google, Microsoft, Facebook and eBay who have their own CDNs are already paying ISPs for interconnection. Since Apple already has total control over its hardware and software, this would allow the company to have control over the end-user experience when it comes to content delivered through its services.

Apple’s CDN will primarily be used to deliver software updates for iOS and OS X as well as apps and media content purchased from iTunes. The ISPs Apple is reportedly talking to have not been named, and it hasn’t been revealed when its CDN is finally going to go live. The company denied to comment on the report.